What is Design for Meaning?

Abstract

Considering the importance of meaning it is perhaps surprising to note the frequent lack of clarity about the matter in the design literature and in design practice. Concepts such as value, ideology, meaning, function, ritual, myth and metaphor are often used interchangeably, with important consequences in terms of possible misunderstanding. A review of key concepts in the discussion of artefact meaning has been performed, and several considerations of relevance to commercially active designers have been identified. The reflections are summarised as a framework which provides a tool for identifying key questions which should be answered. As part of the process of defining the framework of design for meaning the concept of "meaningfication" was established. The potential usefulness of the proposed framework is noted in relation to recent developments in the areas of value creation, business and branding.

The influence of social context on the perception of assistive technology: using a semantic differential scale to compare young adults’ views from the United Kingdom and Pakistan

“…[46][47][48]. Within a sociological perspective, the social constructivism advocates that product semantic(s), the meaning(s), are constructed within a particular sociocultural environment at a given time [34,35,49]. Giacomin [49] indicated that sociologists have shown the semantic(s), the meaning(s), ascribed to a product are relative to the particular culture.…”

“…Within a sociological perspective, the social constructivism advocates that product semantic(s), the meaning(s), are constructed within a particular sociocultural environment at a given time [34,35,49]. Giacomin [49] indicated that sociologists have shown the semantic(s), the meaning(s), ascribed to a product are relative to the particular culture. Similarly, Watson [50] claimed that the semantics given to an artefact are culturally defined and vary substantially, when considered through diverse cultural settings.…”

A first-time investigation of psychosocial inclusivity in design: inclusive supermarket design for older individuals

“…It is now often argued that further exploration, evaluation and development is needed in order to achieve genuine and holistic inclusivity within our increasingly diverse and complex societies (Frye, 2013;Hedvall, 2013;Nickpour et al, 2012;Gaver and Martin, 2000;Demirkan, 2007;Imrie and Hall, 2003;Demirbilek and Demirkan, 1998). Furthermore, in the wider world of design, intangible aspects in areas such as meaning centred design (Giacomin, 2017;Verganti, 2013); design for subjective wellbeing (Jordan et al, 2017); human centred design (Giacomin, 2014;Brown, 2009); experience design (Hassenzahl et al, 2010;Pullman and Gross, 2004;Hekkert et al, 2003); emotional design (Norman, 2005); and pleasurable design (Jordan, 2002) have been well explored. However, the existing theory and practice of inclusive design still predominantly focus on accessibility and physical aspects of experience, thus there appears to be an opportunity for integrating further research which addresses the psychological and social aspects of inclusion.…”

Track 5.j Introduction: Innovation Through Design for Meaning

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This track brings together researchers and practitioners to share and discuss the approach, subsequent outcomes, contributions and possible futures of the design for meaning landscape.For many fast moving consumer goods, home goods, office goods, vehicles, transport systems and elements of the built environment there are a growing number of instances in which a business opportunity can only be achieved by exploiting a new technology or a new cultural code (Holt and Cameron, 2010). Such cases of disruptive innovation or radical innovation are premised on the possibility of defining a new meaning for the potential consumers (Giacomin, 2017). The idea that design is a manner for making sense of things (Krippendorff,1989) is frequently discussed in professional circles, as is the idea that design involves doing philosophy with the hands (Wendt 2015).

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“…Beyond the commercial considerations, it can also be suggested that consideration of target meanings is important towards defining the long term role which an artefact will play in the lives of its owners (Giacomin, 2017). The relational role of artefacts has been neatly expressed by Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton (1981) as "the objects which people use, despite their incredible diversity and sometimes contradictory usage, appear to be signs on a blueprint that represent the relation of man to himself, to his fellows, and to the universe".…”